Vatutaqiri : An Immense Stone-walled Fortification on the Vatia Peninsula, Northern Viti Levu Island, Fiji

Abstract

Fortified upland sites dating from the last millennium are found on many Pacific islands, but few such sites have been described in detail. The results of the excavation of an unusually large, multi-unit stone-walled fortification (Vatutāqiri) located on the Vatia Peninsula, northern Viti Levu Island, Fiji are presented here. The current study represents the firstsystematic mapping and excavation of a fortification in this region. The proto-historic site has six stone walls, scarping, and a ditch protecting the citadel and occupies a 400-m–long, steepsided elongate ridge line. Pottery sherds and edible-shellfish remains are scattered throughout the site and were recovered from excavations for analyses. The results show that the inhabitants of Vatutāqiri exploited nearshore marine resources and suggest that specific ceramic decorations were associated with discrete areas of activity at the site. Vatutāqiri is one of several complex fortifications dating to a similar period on the Vatia Peninsula that are associated with upland ring-wall mounds (interpreted as defensive units) in the area, which suggests that conflict was endemic around AD 1700, possibly earlier, in this area. This conclusion agrees with others from regional surveys of inland/upland fortified sites on many tropical Pacific islands.

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